1304, 2012

Foul-mouthed Facebook bus drivers in PR hot water

By |13th April 2012|Crisis PR, Facebook, Twitter|Comments Off on Foul-mouthed Facebook bus drivers in PR hot water

We may have seen it time and time before – yet despite all the high-profile stories it is still astonishing to think that many employees are still blissfully unaware of the dangers of airing grievances about their work on social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter.

And now the latest case to hit the headlines […]

304, 2012

One shell of a way to crab media attention

By |3rd April 2012|PR|Comments Off on One shell of a way to crab media attention

If you’re a frequent visitor to our blog then you’ll be familiar with the many PR stories that we have covered about Danish toy manufacturer Lego – including the Lego Christmas tree and Lego album covers.

The prolific PR team that helps to promote the company’s line of children’s toys, video games and theme parks, seemingly never tires of […]

3003, 2012

It’s official: I’m one of the Top 50 Freelancers in the UK

By |30th March 2012|Awards, PR|Comments Off on It’s official: I’m one of the Top 50 Freelancers in the UK

To say I’m chuffed is an understatement.

Today the Drum magazine has unveiled a list of the Top 50 Freelancers in the UK and my name is amongst them.

The magazine holds an annual poll to find the best marketing freelancers in the industry and the 2012 list has been unveiled in a special supplement.

It’s the second […]

2703, 2012

Facebook Timeline the perfect PR platform

By |27th March 2012|Facebook|Comments Off on Facebook Timeline the perfect PR platform

With just a few days to go before businesses are forced by Facebook into using a new format for their branded pages, we’ve decided to take a closer look at the implications of Facebook Timeline for PR campaigns that make use of the social networking platform.

If you’re a Facebook user, you may have noticed that […]

1603, 2012

Technology firms believe in power of online PR

By |16th March 2012|PR, SEO, Social media|Comments Off on Technology firms believe in power of online PR

When it comes to giving your website a welcome boost in the search engine rankings, as public relations professionals we’ve long been aware of just how important online PR is to your search engine optimisation.

But, according to the results of a new survey, it would seem that public relations and search engine optimisation consultants are […]

903, 2012

Bookie White Horse stunt an odds-on PR winner

By |9th March 2012|PR stunts|Comments Off on Bookie White Horse stunt an odds-on PR winner

One of the best things about working in PR is that you get the chance to inject a bit of fun and frivolity into what can often otherwise be a very dull and dreary news agenda.

Giving readers entertainment is as important to newspapers as serious news reporting. And so journalists and editors are always on […]

503, 2012

Ad face-paint idea a PR masterstroke

By |5th March 2012|PR stunts|Comments Off on Ad face-paint idea a PR masterstroke

They may well have come up with a novel way to sell advertising, but ultimately it will be the PR value of their proposition that will end up sending sales of their ad face painting service through the roof.

That’s our assessment of a new business venture conceived by two recent Cambridge graduates as a way […]

2802, 2012

VisitBritain poster proofo a proper PR embarrassment

By |28th February 2012|Facebook, PR disaster|Comments Off on VisitBritain poster proofo a proper PR embarrassment

At Octopus PR, before we send out any of our public relations material, we always get it checked out by our own regular proofreader first.

And it’s not hard to see why we do when you look at the PR humiliation that the UK’s official tourist board has suffered as a result of an embarrassing proofo […]

2302, 2012

Fruity text-speak slogan a triumphant PR ‘offensive’

By |23rd February 2012|PR|Comments Off on Fruity text-speak slogan a triumphant PR ‘offensive’

It’s a dilemma that every one of us in PR has to face from time to time. You’re sitting on a campaign idea that you know is going to upset a few people, but it’s simply just so good that you feel you really have to run with it.

This is exactly the issue that the […]

1402, 2012

Concrete jungle tour a dream PR ticket

By |14th February 2012|PR stunts|Comments Off on Concrete jungle tour a dream PR ticket

When Croydon resident James Naylor decided to set up a company offering guided tours of his home town, few people would have thought he stood a chance of making it a genuine business success.

But, as we’ve discovered time and time again with our own clients, sometimes it’s the most unconventional of business ideas that go […]

802, 2012

Top Totty beer ban makes mouth-watering PR

By |8th February 2012|PR|Comments Off on Top Totty beer ban makes mouth-watering PR

You’d think that MPs of all people would’ve learnt the very fundamental public relations lessons by now.

Yet after a story emerged from the Palace of Westminster, in which the House of Commons banned a beer called Top Totty from its members bar, it would seem that for many politicians the PR penny still hasn’t yet […]

202, 2012

Toddler-inspired giraffe bread grabs PR ‘spot’ light

By |2nd February 2012|Facebook, PR|Comments Off on Toddler-inspired giraffe bread grabs PR ‘spot’ light

Any media story showing that you deliver great customer service and that you listen to your customers is undoubtedly amongst the best PR you can ever have.

So grocery chain Sainsbury’s must be particularly delighted with the way the national press has picked up on the story of how it renamed its 75p loaf of Tiger […]

2401, 2012

The Twitter campaign PR McDisaster

By |24th January 2012|Crisis PR, PR, Social media, Twitter|Comments Off on The Twitter campaign PR McDisaster

It is perhaps fair to say that in virtually all forms of marketing, with PR being no exception, some campaigns just don’t go according to plan no matter how well conceived they are.

Sometimes it’s a case of the right campaign, but at the wrong moment.

Sometimes, particularly in PR, you’re never quite 100% sure what you […]

1701, 2012

Is Blue Monday fact or PR fiction?

By |17th January 2012|PR, PR stunts|Comments Off on Is Blue Monday fact or PR fiction?

At Octopus PR, we often see stories in the media about results of research or surveys into current lifestyle trends and wonder just how much of them is fact and how much is just plain PR fiction.

Take, for example, the story that appears at this time every single year about a study which claims that […]

1201, 2012

Tourism minister puts bungee jump reputation on line

By |12th January 2012|PR, PR stunts, YouTube|Comments Off on Tourism minister puts bungee jump reputation on line

As PR practitioners, we’d like to say that there’s little we wouldn’t be prepared to do to help preserve or improve the reputation of our clients.

But we’re not entirely convinced that we’d have the courage shown by Zambia’s tourism minister, Given Lubinda, who helped his country out by doing a PR stunt in the very […]